What years did Jeff Russell play?

Jeff Russell played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1996.

Was Jeff Russell a pitcher?

Yes. Jeff Russell pitched in the major leagues, recording 56 wins and 693 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Jeff Russell hit?

Jeff Russell hit 1 career home run with 11 hits.

What teams did Jeff Russell play for?

Jeff Russell played for 5 teams: the Cincinnati Reds (1983–1984), the Texas Rangers (1985–1992, 1995–1996), the Oakland Athletics (1992), the Boston Red Sox (1993–1994), and the Cleveland Indians (1994).

Did Jeff Russell win a Cy Young Award?

No. Jeff Russell did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Jeff Russell win?

Jeff Russell was selected to 2 All-Star Games.

What were Jeff Russell's career stats?

In 589 games, Jeff Russell went 56-73 with a 3.75 ERA, 693 strikeouts, 1,099.2 innings pitched, and 186 saves.

What was Jeff Russell's salary?

Jeff Russell's last recorded salary was $615,000, in 1996. His highest recorded salary was $2,975,000, in 1994, and his lowest was $80,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 1996.

What position did Jeff Russell play?

Jeff Russell played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Jeff Russell and how much did he weigh?

Jeff Russell was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 200 pounds.

What was Jeff Russell's career ERA?

Jeff Russell finished with a 3.75 career ERA, going 56-73 with 693 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Jeff Russell have?

Jeff Russell recorded 693 career strikeouts.

Is Jeff Russell in the Hall of Fame?

No. Jeff Russell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jeff Russell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1983-1996)

Jeff Russell was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1996 for 5 teams, including the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 14 seasons. Across 589 career appearances, he went 56-73 with a 3.75 ERA, 693 strikeouts, and 186 saves. Jeff Russell was a 2-time All-Star and a Reliever of the Year.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 17, 2026

W–L 56–73

ERA 3.75

WHIP 1.35

SO 693

Pitcher PIV -273.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'4" / 200 lb
Born: 9/2/1961 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1983-08-13
Last Game: 1996-09-27
Awards: 2× All-Star · Reliever of the Year

Full name: Jeffrey Lee Russell

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Career Pitching Statistics

Jeff Russell — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
56	73	589	79	11	2	186	1099.2	1,065	458	100	415	693	3.75	-273.0

Career ERA 3.75 vs. league average 4.04 across their career seasons — 7.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jeff Russell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1983	CIN	NL	4	5	10	10	2	0	0	68.1	58	23	22	40	3.03	3.87 (+22%)	-16.2
1984	CIN	NL	6	18	33	30	4	2	0	181.2	186	86	65	101	4.26	3.81 (-12%)	-264.0
1985	TEX	AL	3	6	13	13	0	0	0	62.0	85	52	27	44	7.55	3.89 (-94%)	-1350.8
1986	TEX	AL	5	2	37	0	0	0	2	82.0	74	31	31	54	3.40	3.97 (+14%)	-812.0
1987	TEX	AL	5	4	52	2	0	0	3	97.1	109	48	52	56	4.44	4.29 (-3%)	-713.6
1988	TEX	AL	10	9	34	24	5	0	0	188.2	183	80	66	88	3.82	3.73 (-2%)	-1400.1
1989	TEX	AL	6	4	71	0	0	0	38	72.2	45	16	24	77	1.98	3.71 (+47%)	2279.8
1990	TEX	AL	1	5	27	0	0	0	10	25.1	23	12	16	16	4.26	3.86 (-10%)	-58.1
1991	TEX	AL	6	4	68	0	0	0	30	79.1	71	29	26	52	3.29	3.91 (+16%)	-906.6
1992	TEX	AL	2	3	51	0	0	0	28	56.2	51	12	22	43	1.91	3.75 (+49%)	746.9
1992	OAK	AL	2	0	8	0	0	0	2	9.2	4	0	3	5	0.00	3.75 (+100%)	0.0
1993	BOS	AL	1	4	51	0	0	0	33	46.2	39	14	14	45	2.70	4.19 (+36%)	2223.8
1994	BOS	AL	0	5	29	0	0	0	12	28.0	30	16	13	18	5.14	4.51 (-14%)	-158.6
1994	CLE	AL	1	1	13	0	0	0	5	12.2	13	7	3	10	4.97	4.51 (-10%)	62.4
1995	TEX	AL	1	0	37	0	0	0	20	32.2	36	11	9	21	3.03	4.45 (+32%)	504.1
1996	TEX	AL	3	3	55	0	0	0	3	56.0	58	21	22	23	3.38	4.61 (+27%)	-409.9
Career · 16 seasons			56	73	589	79	11	2	186	1,099.2	1,065	458	415	693	3.75	—	-273

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Jeff Russell — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
591	79	3	11	3	0	1	10	0	5	33	.139	.188	.215	.403	-436

Career AVG .139 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 46.5% below league average.

Career OBP .188 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 42.5% below league average.

Career SLG .215 vs. league average .396 across their career seasons — 45.7% below league average.

Career OPS .403 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 44.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jeff Russell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1983	CIN	NL	10	21	1	3	1	1	3	1	6	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	CIN	NL	34	57	2	8	2	0	7	4	27	.140	.259 (-46%)	.322 (-40%)	.384 (-54%)	.707 (-48%)	-436.2
1985	TEX	AL	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	TEX	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	TEX	AL	52	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	TEX	AL	35	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	TEX	AL	71	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	TEX	AL	27	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	TEX	AL	68	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	TEX	AL	51	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	OAK	AL	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	BOS	AL	51	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	BOS	AL	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	CLE	AL	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	TEX	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1996	TEX	AL	55	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 16 seasons			591	79	3	11	3	1	10	5	33	.139	—	—	—	—	-436

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Jeff Russell — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Jeff Russell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1996	ALDS2	TEX	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1992	ALCS	OAK	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Jeff Russell — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	0	5	0	0	5.0	5	3	4	1	5.40

Playoff Pitching by Year

Jeff Russell — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1996	ALDS2	TEX	0	0	2	0	0	3.0	3	1	0	1	3.00
1992	ALCS	OAK	1	0	3	0	0	2.0	2	2	4	0	9.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1180 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Jeff Russell — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	293	34	1	7	0	6	.206
Away	298	45	2	4	1	4	.089

Pitching — Home / Away

Jeff Russell — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	291	539.0	531	230	185	330	3.84
Away	298	560.2	534	228	230	363	3.66

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jeff Russell — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	BB	SO
1996-09-27	TEX	LAA	—	0.1	1	1	0
1996-09-24	TEX	OAK	—	1.1	0	0	3
1996-09-20	TEX	LAA	—	0.1	0	0	0
1996-09-18	TEX	SEA	—	0.2	0	1	0
1996-09-17	TEX	SEA	—	0.2	1	0	1
1996-09-15	TEX	MIL	—	0.2	1	0	0
1996-09-13	TEX	MIL	—	1.0	1	0	0
1996-09-10	TEX	TOR	—	0.1	2	0	0
1996-09-07	TEX	MIL	—	0.0	1	0	0
1996-09-06	TEX	MIL	—	0.1	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jeff Russell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	589	79	71	192	10	17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jeff Russell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1983	CIN	P	10	10	2	10	1	0
1984	CIN	P	33	30	7	34	2	4
1985	TEX	P	13	13	6	10	0	1
1986	TEX	P	37	0	6	17	0	3
1987	TEX	P	52	2	11	17	0	2
1988	TEX	P	34	24	12	37	5	3
1989	TEX	P	71	0	6	14	0	3
1990	TEX	P	27	0	1	5	1	0
1991	TEX	P	68	0	6	18	1	1
1992	TEX	P	51	0	8	8	0	0
1992	OAK	P	8	0	0	0	0	0
1993	BOS	P	51	0	2	10	0	0
1994	BOS	P	29	0	0	1	0	0
1994	CLE	P	13	0	1	1	0	0
1995	TEX	P	37	0	2	2	0	0
1996	TEX	P	55	0	1	8	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jeff Russell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	589

Awards & Honors

Jeff Russell — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1989	Reliever of the Year Award
1989	TSN Fireman of the Year

Salary History

Jeff Russell's recorded salaries total $13,096,667 over 10 seasons, 1986 to 1996. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Russell's career ran from 1983 to 1996. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1985 and 1987.

Jeff Russell — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1996	TEX	AL	$615,000
1995	TEX	AL	$615,000
1994	BOS	AL	$2,975,000
1993	BOS	AL	$2,175,000
1992	TEX	AL	$2,600,000
1991	TEX	AL	$2,200,000
1990	TEX	AL	$1,166,667
1989	TEX	AL	$480,000
1988	TEX	AL	$190,000
1986	TEX	AL	$80,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$13,096,667

College History

Jeff Russell — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Gulf Coast Community College	Panama City	FL	1980

Award Voting History

Jeff Russell — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1989	Cy Young Award	AL	9th	1.0	140	0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Jeff Russell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Jeff Russell: the record in brief

Jeff Russell's major league career runs from a debut on August 13, 1983 to a final game on September 27, 1996. Russell played for the Cincinnati Reds (1983 to 1984), the Texas Rangers (1985 to 1996), the Oakland Athletics (1992), the Boston Red Sox (1993 through 1994), and the Cleveland Indians (1994). Russell is listed as a pitcher at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. Russell batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is September 2, 1961, in Cincinnati, OH, USA. Jeff Russell was the playing name; the full given name is Jeffrey Lee.

The pitching table credits Russell with a 56-73 record and a 3.75 ERA in 589 games. The same table counts 693 strikeouts, 11 complete games, and 186 saves. Against a 4.04 league ERA for the same years, Russell was 7.1% better. 1988 brought Russell a season-high 10 wins. 1984 produced Russell's most strikeouts, 101. Russell saved 38 games in 1989, the season high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jeff Russell

What years did Jeff Russell play?: Jeff Russell played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1996.
Was Jeff Russell a pitcher?: Yes. Jeff Russell pitched in the major leagues, recording 56 wins and 693 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jeff Russell hit?: Jeff Russell hit 1 career home run with 11 hits.
What teams did Jeff Russell play for?: Jeff Russell played for 5 teams: the Cincinnati Reds (1983–1984), the Texas Rangers (1985–1992, 1995–1996), the Oakland Athletics (1992), the Boston Red Sox (1993–1994), and the Cleveland Indians (1994).
Did Jeff Russell win a Cy Young Award?: No. Jeff Russell did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Jeff Russell win?: Jeff Russell was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Jeff Russell's career stats?: In 589 games, Jeff Russell went 56-73 with a 3.75 ERA, 693 strikeouts, 1,099.2 innings pitched, and 186 saves.
How much did Jeff Russell earn in his career?: Jeff Russell's recorded salaries total $13,096,667 over 10 seasons, 1986 to 1996. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Russell's career ran from 1983 to 1996. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1985 and 1987.
What was Jeff Russell's salary?: Jeff Russell's last recorded salary was $615,000, in 1996. His highest recorded salary was $2,975,000, in 1994, and his lowest was $80,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 1996.
What position did Jeff Russell play?: Jeff Russell played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jeff Russell and how much did he weigh?: Jeff Russell was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 200 pounds.
What was Jeff Russell's career ERA?: Jeff Russell finished with a 3.75 career ERA, going 56-73 with 693 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Jeff Russell have?: Jeff Russell recorded 693 career strikeouts.
Is Jeff Russell in the Hall of Fame?: No. Jeff Russell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.